Samsung’s first attempt to launch a smart watch didn’t go as planned. We are hearing that most launch partners are stuck with huge inventory that didn’t sell as well as it originally expected.

The news comes from a few of our industry friends and the timing doesn’t seem to be good for Samsung, either. It is expected that Samsung flagship Galaxy 5 as well as Gear 2 watch, Gear 2 Neo and Gear fit launch within next couple of weeks if not sooner. Most countries got April 11th as the launch date and the launch date of all four of these gadgets will depend on the market, but it will be close to April 11 for most markets. We also hear that Galaxy Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit are selling significantly better than the first batch.

People in the know are confident that the second generation can do better despite a rather steep price. We can see a good chance for the Gear fit judging by the Fitbit success. People will be wanting to check out their text messages on their watches as it sounds like a cool thing to do.

The biggest obstacle for Galaxy Gear 2 is Android Wear, as smart watches like Moto 360 can put a lot of pressure on Samsung’s own platform or Qualcomm proof of concept known as the Toq watch. Having Google Now integration on a smart watch makes it a lot more functional, but we would have concerns over the battery life as well as the price. Don’t forget that Fossil watch group also committed to introducing an Android Wear based watch and since this manufacturer is quite well known brand in the mainstream watch market, maybe it can help speed up mass market adoption.

The redundancy and limited functionality of your average smart watch compared to your mobile phone is something we will all face, but it will be up to users to decide if they need more microprocessors on their body in form of wearable technology. We can tell you that it is cool to be able to read your email on a watch, at least for a little while until it gets old.

As expected and rumored earlier, during its pre-IFA 2013 press conference, Samsung has unveiled both the new Galaxy Note 3 flagship phablet as well as the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch that it markets as "the perfect companion to your Note 3".

Design wise, Galaxy Gear, thankfully, looks a lot better than earlier leaks, as it is not as bulky and uses chrome accents to at least give an impression of a quality device. The size of the Gear screen is 1.63x1.63-inch it features Super AMOLED 320x320 screen. The precise dimensions are 36.8x56.6x11.1mm and it weighs 73.8g.

In addition to obvious function as a watch, Galaxy Gear will work best with Galaxy Note 3 and, as expected, will only be compatible with "some" Galaxy smartphones, something that feel like it is taken from Apple's guidebook. Unlike earlier rumors, the Galaxy Gear does not work on Android and needs a connection to a Galaxy Device. It will work with Galaxy S III and S4, Note II and 3 as well as the new Note 10.1 also announced at IFA 2013. All older noted devices will need a software update. The main function of the Galaxy Gear is to show you incoming messages, such as calls, texts, emails and various alerts as well as deliver a preview of those messages.

It also comes with a rather unique Smart Relay feature that automatically transfers anything that is on the screen of the Galaxy Gear directly to Galaxy smartphone when you unlock it. Basically, if you are looking at a preview of a message and unlock your smartphone, that same message will be displayed on the phone. As expected, it will also feature S Voice commands that can be used to make a call and even speak via Galaxy Gear's built-in speakers and microphone located at the bottom of the strap. It also allows you to make Voice Memos, set alarms and basically anything that you might want to do via Voice commands.

The Gear also locks the smartphone automatically if you move it more than 1.5 meters away from your smartphone and even helps you to find it via Find My Device feature. It will also feature some expected health-tracking features with S Health app but will surprisingly lack a heart-rate monitor.

For now, Samsung has unveiled that the Gear is powered by an unknown 800MHz processor (we'll have to wait for iFixIt to tear it apart) paired up with 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage as well as a 315mAh battery that is, according to Samsung, enough for more than a day on the go. The connection to the smartphone is handled via new power-efficient Bluetooth 4.0 LE. It also comes with a 1.9-megapixel camera that will be able to capture 720p video.

Galaxy Gear will be available later this month in most of the world while the US and Japan will have to wait until October. The price is set at US $299.